By Tom Ellis Sometime in January, the General Services Committee (GSC) of the Albany Common Council will hold a meeting at which the city’s solid waste consultants, Clough Harbour @ Associates (CHA) and Bill Bruce, will discuss their response to comments submitted by representatives and friends of Save the Pine Bush on the proposed long-range … Update on Albany’s Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP)
ALBANY: The October Save the Pine Bush dinner at the First Presbyterian Church was the setting for the birthday party in honor of Ward Stone. The party was a great success. The hall was packed full. We all agreed that the environmental community couldn’t get along without Ward. Speakers included Elise Griffin, Elise Kunz, Tom … Environmentalists Honor Ward Stone
by Tom Ellis ALBANY: Early this year, the City of Albany’s solid waste consultant, Clough Harbour & Associates (CHA), completed a draft long range solid waste management plan for the Capital Region Solid Waste Management Partnership (the planning unit of Albany and the dozen or so municipalities who now dump trash in the Rapp Road … Draft Solid Waste Management Plan Needs Closer Look & Changes
by Tom Ellis As many readers know, Ward Stone, NYS DEC wildlife pathologist since 1969, has had numerous conflicts over the years with DEC higher-ups, most concerning Ward’s determination to learn the facts about how pollutants impact wildlife, and then reporting what he has learned. The latest of these battles is now in progress. This … We Want Ward in Our Backyard!
by Tom Ellis The City of Albany is preparing an update to its 1992 long-range solid waste management plan (SWMP) for the years 2011-2030. A year ago, Mayor Jennings appointed a Steering Committee (SC) to help draft it. The SC met monthly during the last year. During December, the city’s solid waste consultant, Clough … Regional Solid Waste Authority – Inevitable or will Citizens have a say?
by Tom Ellis, Citizens’ Environmental Coalition Save the Pine Bush and friends won a partial victory in late February when Clough Harbour & Associates (CHA) revised the preliminary draft solid waste management plan it had issued in mid-December on behalf of a “steering committee” appointed by Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings. CHA faced considerable pressure from … Zero Waste or Waste Authority?
Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY The Albany County Legislature is considering legislation that would extend the ban on the use of one-time use (take-out) food and beverage polystyrene foam containers from restaurants and eateries with fifteen or more establishments in the US (enacted three years ago) to all restaurants and eateries in the county. A public … Albany County & Banning Styrofoam
by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY Mark Schaeffer of 350.org and Conor Bambrick of Environmental Advocates (EA) spoke at the September 21 SPB dinner about the climate crises and the need for a political climate change. Mark led off saying pre-industrial age atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations were 280 part per million (ppm) and today are … Overview of Climate Crisis and NY Renews
by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: Don Rittner was the guest speaker at the June 20 SPB dinner. Don was introduced by John Wolcott who said Don took Albany by storm in 1973 with his archaeological research of the Isaac Truax Tavern on the King’s Highway that George Washington stopped in six times. He said Don … The Way We Were
by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: At times speaking poetically, Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission (commission) Conservation Director Neil Gifford spoke at length about the Karner Blue Butterfly (KBB) at the March 21 SPB dinner. He began with a friendly joke that “It’s Lynne and Rezsin’s fault I am here tonight,” a reference to the commission … Neil Gifford Presents A Pine Bush Update
by Tom Ellis First-term Albany Common Council member Frank Commisso, Jr., has figured out how Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings operates and is determined to make substantive changes. A member of the common council’s finance committee, he led a revolt over two proposed bonding ordinances – one for $7 million to expand the city’s Rapp Road landfill yet … Jerry Jennings Blinked
by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY— “The future is bright,” said John Ciovacco, President of Aztech Geothermal, at the November 15 SPB dinner. He spoke about “Geothermal Heat Pump Systems as One solution to Climate Change.” Aztech was founded in 2007, the first installations were in 2009, and 350 installations have now been completed. Mr. Ciovacco … Geothermal Power is Possible in the City
by Tom Ellis About 25 years back, Albany politicians made a foolish decision to purchase a large property in Coeymans (ten miles south of Albany), hoping to site a regional landfill there to replace the Rapp Road Landfill that DEC was then threatening to soon close. Albany took many years purchasing the property, eventually spending … The City is Selling 363 Acres of Land in Coeymans
Congratulations to Tom Ellis for his excellent letter-to-the-editor which appeared in Thursday’s Times Union (12/30/10) concerning the SWMP plan, the proposed solid waste authority and the possibility of an incinerator being constrducted in the area. The letter is shown below. In addition to the points Tom made in his letter, it should be mentioned that … Rethink Plans for Disposal Facility
by Tom Ellis, October 2020 Newsletter ALBANY: Save the Pine Bush President Rezsin Adams, who died August 13 at age 93, was lovingly honored and remembered at a September 16 virtual Save the Pine Bush meeting facilitated by Lynne Jackson. Carol Waterman said Rezsin had a wonder-ful sense of humor, could be hilarious, and once … Rezsin Adams Remembered At the Save the Pine Bush Dinner
by Tom Ellis ALBANY: Derrick Marcucci of Landmark Archeology was the featured speaker at the November 16 SPB dinner at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. He said most of his firm’s Pine Bush work involves development proposals, the number of which have dropped off quite a bit in the past three years. The Pine Bush he … Archaeology in the Pine Bush
By Tom Ellis RENSSELAER: Andrew Cuomo has now been governor for ten years. He constantly congratulates himself for being a wonderful forward-looking environmentalist and as someone serious about fighting climate change. Missing from his action plans are commitments to detoxify the economy, reduce solid wastes, and correctly manage what we discard. I frequently observe tremendous … Deconstruction Not Demolition
by Tom Ellis RENSSELAER, NY: The Covid-19 pandemic highlights a major problem with government in the USA, NYS, and locally. Executive agencies employ vastly more people than legislatures despite the complaint that legislatures are bloated. Elected executives (presidents, governors, county executives) appoint commissioners and other top staff, often subject to approval by a legislative body, … COVID-19 and Dunn Landfill
by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: On August 21, Lou Ismay completed the lecture he began in April about his experiences teaching and leading the Environmental Forum course at the University at Albany beginning fifty years ago. Lynne Jackson introduced Lou saying Lou’s office was in the Arts building. Lou hung strings from the ceiling connected … Lou Ismay and the Environmental Forum
By Tom Ellis COHOES: Lights Out Norlite, NATURE Lab, Saratoga Sites Against Norlite Emissions, and the Hudson Mohawk Environmental Action Network held a virtual Hazardous Waste School on December 16 at which four hazardous waste experts discussed various aspects of the issue. The program concerned the Norlite hazardous waste incinerator in Cohoes. Bruce Buckheit worked … Battling Hazardous Waste Incineration
by Tom Ellis Rensselaer city residents have intensified their efforts to stop nearly 100 large trucks per day from driving through the downtown. The trucks, which have 18, 22, 24, or 26 wheels. supposedly carry construction and demolition (C&D) debris wastes. They traverse Broadway and turn east onto Partition Street with its steep hill en-route … Updates in Brief — Trucks, Zero-Waste Tulipfest and a Leaking Landfill
by Tom Ellis Labrador: Jim Learning of the Labrador Land Protectors, who spoke at the April 20, 2016 SPB dinner about his work to preserve rivers in Canada from needless destruction, died on April 16. He was 81. He was a Grand River Labrador board member and Nunatu-Kavut councilor. Jim’s 2016 stop in Albany was … Save the Pine Bush Loses a Friend
by Tom Ellis ONLINE: Long-time local environmental leader and former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Judith Enck spoke on “Cleaning the Air” at the June 17 Virtual Vegetarian/Vegan Lasagna Dinner. Judith spoke primarily about Lafarge and Norlite. She began with the state-owned ANSWERS trash incinerator that operated, with high lead and dioxin emissions, in … Judith Enck Speaks About Cleaning the Air
by Tom Ellis In the wake of the George Floyd murder, much has been said and written about how policing and public safety require major overhauls in the United States. The same applies to how the New York state government regulates environmental toxins. Human health and the environment are being poisoned with the support of … Regulate Toxins
2020s 🦋 2010s 🦋 2000s 🦋 1990s Search Newsletter Archives: 2025 🦋 2024 🦋 2023 🦋 2022 🦋 2021 🦋 2020 2025 Newsletters 🦋 News Articles from April/May 2025 Newsletter Is there hope for the Endangered Karner Blue? – April/May 2025 Newsletter Pyramid turns down IDA tax break for Costco – April/May 2025 Newsletter Proposed … SPB Newsletters Listed by Date – 2020s
Search Newsletter Archives: What is Full Protection, Partial Protection and who is the Pine Bush? – By Lynne Jackson – June / July 2022 Newsletter A Tribute To Lew Oliver, our wonderful lawyer Is there hope for the Endangered Karner Blue? – April/May 2025 Newsletter The Pine Bush’s Most Famous Resident – The Karner Blue … Newsletters Articles Ordered by Subject
Go directly to Common Council Members Download a PDF of this announcement ALBANY: Tharaldson Development Company of North Dakota, wants to construct a Residence Inn Mariott hotel on Washington Avenue Extension, adjacent to a known Karner Blue butterfly site and a site that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service recognizes as occupied by Karner Blues. … Oral Argument in Hotel Case Heard in Appellate Division